Clip and save: How to contact your legislators

Critical decisions are being made in the General Assembly. Lobbyists for all manner of interests, from developers and electrical utilities to educators and hospitals, are in Richmond bending legislators' ears, wining and dining them, making pitches for which bills should be passed and which killed.

If there's an issue you care about, don't waste any time letting your delegate and senator know. Because now, and in the days and weeks ahead, they will make decisions that will determine whether any progress is made on fixing the transportation mess, whether mentally retarded people get the care they need and what the state does with sexual predators. They'll determine how much state money local schools get, whether juveniles can be executed and what the minimum wage will be. They'll make decisions that can have far-reaching consequences for the health of the Chesapeake Bay and local rivers, for the health of public colleges and universities, for the health of the commonwealth and its economy and society. That includes you.

And their decisions will determine how much the state takes out of your pocket and how it spends it. That, in turn, can make a big difference in how much your locality will want from you.

So speak up. These men and women are your representatives. Let them know how you want to be represented.

The information below will help you reach your delegate and senator by mail, telephone or e-mail. They're in order by district, with brief descriptions indicating which localities within the Daily Press readership area fall within each district.

Don't limit your contact to your own representatives. If there's a piece of legislation you're interested in, get in touch with the members of the committees that will decide whether or not it even reaches the floor, where your delegate or senator will get to vote on it. You can find out who these people are and track the status of bills whose fate they are deciding at the General Assembly's Web site, http://legis.state.va.us. It's chock-full of helpful information.

Use it. Because you can be sure that if you stay silent, someone else will be filling their ears and their mailboxes with persuasion.

HOUSE OF DELEGATES

Address for all delegates:

P.O. Box 406Richmond, VA 23218

Del. William Barlow (D)

64th District includes Surry, Williamsburg; parts of Isle of Wight and James City counties